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Households of seven ladies and camp counselors killed within the July 4 Camp Mystic flood in Hunt, Texas, have filed a wrongful demise and negligence lawsuit, alleging the camp’s house owners ignored flood dangers and state security guidelines to guard earnings.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 10 in Travis County District Courtroom by legal professional R. Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman LLP, names the households of Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly DeWitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry and Blakely McCrory — all of whom died within the catastrophic flooding.
The 75-page petition claims Camp Mystic and its house owners “put revenue over security” and “selected to accommodate younger ladies in flood-prone areas to keep away from the price of relocating cabins.”
It additionally accuses the camp of failing to create or comply with an evacuation plan, regardless of state laws requiring one.
“Simply such a tragedy hit our State on July 4, 2025,” the lawsuit reads. “When 25 campers and two counselors needlessly and tragically died within the floodwaters at Camp Mystic.”
Camp Mystic spans 725 acres alongside the Guadalupe River within the Texas Hill Nation, an space lengthy identified for lethal flash floods. The submitting cites a 1990 interview with then-director Richard Eastland, who reportedly advised the Austin-American Statesman, “I’m positive there might be different drownings. Folks don’t heed the warnings.”
In accordance with the lawsuit, the camp ignored a number of warnings — from climate alerts, workers considerations, and its personal expertise.
Counselors allegedly pleaded to evacuate ladies from low-lying cabins however have been advised to “keep put as a result of that’s the plan.”
TIMELINE DETAILED IN THE LAWSUIT:
• 1:14 a.m. — Nationwide Climate Service issued a “life-threatening flash flood” warning.
• 1:45 a.m.–2:13 a.m. — Camp leaders Richard and Edward Eastland allegedly labored to maneuver tools as an alternative of ordering an evacuation.
• 2:20 a.m. — Counselors reported water coming into cabins however have been instructed to stay inside.
• 2:30–3:30 a.m. — 5 cabins have been evacuated to the Rec Corridor; six others have been left behind, together with Nut Hut, Chatter Field, Wiggle Inn, Giggle Field, Twins, and Bubble Inn.
• 3:35–3:51 a.m. — Richard Eastland’s SUV was swept away as he tried to rescue ladies from Bubble Inn; all 13 campers and two counselors in that cabin drowned.
• 3:35–4:09 a.m. — Eleven campers died in Twins Cabin after being advised to remain as a result of “the water would return down.”
The petition argues that the women may have safely evacuated inside 60 seconds to increased floor if not ordered to stay of their cabins.
Households accuse Camp Mystic of gross negligence, premises legal responsibility, and intentional infliction of emotional misery.
The submitting additionally highlights a written coverage stating: “In case of flood, all campers on Senior Hill should keep of their cabins… All cabins are constructed on secure, excessive places.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges that camp directors misled households after the catastrophe, telling them the women have been merely “unaccounted for” hours after the floodwaters receded.
Including to households’ anger, the lawsuit cites the camp’s determination to announce its reopening for the following summer time season whereas one camper, Cile Steward, remained lacking.
The households are looking for greater than $1 million in damages, together with wrongful demise and exemplary damages, and have requested a jury trial.
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